The number of network connected devices is increasing at a drastic rate due in part to the internet of things (IoT), which connects small form factor devices, like vehicles, drones, set top boxes and other devices to the internet, often with substantial compute capabilities. One potential way to treat these resources is to organize them into a collection of edge clouds using traditional cloud tools to monitor and deploy applications. Despite the similarities to the traditional cloud infrastructure as a service model (IaaS model), such an approach presents many unique challenges. For starters, the edge devices in question often have very limited compute and memory, and in the case of drones, limited energy as well. Second, the network environment is dramatically different from the typical data center, complete with nodes that may be constantly moving and have intermittent connectivity with variable quality. Third, the ratio of compute to control nodes is dramatically different. With thousands to potentially millions of devices attaching to a small set of cloud controllers, the control plane must achieve very high levels of efficiency. Additionally, these devices often need mixed initiative management that is very distinct from the traditional cloud provider and the tenant separation. Specifically, in addition to the entity that manages the entire platform (e.g. cable or auto company), and the application providers that manage the applications, each edge device may also be co-managed by the end-user who actually owns it (e.g., the car or set-top box owner). The cloud platform must then not only be able to factor in the user's preferences and actions in any deployment decision making, but it also must be able to protect the overall platform from compromises of individual edge devices. Current cloud management platforms like OpenStack are designed to handle a maximum of a few thousand compute nodes, not the projected billions of IoT devices.
There is a need for cloud management tools that can efficiently handle a large number of IoT devices and overcome the mixed initiative management drawbacks of existing cloud management tools.